Washed Out
by Aiko Isari
Summary: (Persona 4) All Yui can do is smile away her sorrow. She's afraid of what will happen if she doesn't. Perhaps she should be. AU
1. normal

_Warning for implied trauma, deflection, unhealthy coping mechanisms, bullying, parental issues_

* * *

 _one - normal_

Yui once thought about dying her hair black, to look like everyone else. The only thing that she would stand out with after that would be her tendency to transfer schools. That would be weird, sure, but it wouldn't be exotic. Nothing like the model on TV or the genius detective. Nothing glorious about her silver hair. But it was too well-known at this point. The last thing she needed was more scandal. Well, to be more accurate, more abnormality.

Ironically, that was exactly what she was in now.

She drew her sword and danced to the side of another curving hand. A gust of wind made her pause for a moment. Then, without hesitation, she whirled on both feet, lightning in her fist. It leaped free from her fingers with a satisfying crack like lightning.

"Nice one, partner!" Yosuke's voice rang out clear as day on the other side of the room as he ducked and weaved. "How's the hand?"

She checked the glove and ducked a flying kick. Chie, that was way too close. "Fine! Everyone all right?" This world was nothing like the day-to-day she had been involved in. Monsters of the human heart were real and her friends were so strong, so amazing for beginning to conquer their own.

Yui switched personas, away from the soft, cloying truths of Izanagi to King Frost's Imperial, well, frost, and let the ice well up beneath her. It was just another day. It was her new normal. The word made her pause to catch her breath as the last Shadow fell apart. She panted, focusing on steady, low breaths. Her legs wobbled for a moment and slightly larger hands caught her shoulders.

"You all right, senpai?"

Kanji's voice, casually rough, was a nice balm to her veering self-aggrandizing thoughts. "Yeah." She smiled quickly. "I think that King Frost still drains a bit much for me. I'll be fine after I take a snuff soul."

"Gotcha." He grinned beneath his sunglasses. "Take your time."

"Thanks." She slowly straightened up as the other two hurried over.

"You look a little pale, partner."

Yui waved one hand, the other on her sword. "I'm all right. You know how the spells work."

Chie tried to laugh it off. "Besides, we're right by the stairs. We can afford a break." It was hard not to smile. They all just cared so much.

"We're just training anyway," Yui said with a smirk, wiping sweat from her brow. "We should give the others a chance."

"You mean the ones you left down the stairs?"

Rise really had the best comedic timing.

* * *

As far as Dojima thought of it, Yui hung out with her friends after school, had multiple part-time jobs, and went to a lot of school clubs. None of this was wrong. However, the Investigation Team was just… different. Special. It was nice. And even though she was keeping a secret, secrets too were normal. Normal as her silver pixie cut.

The motor scooter thrummed gently under her hands as she pulled it to a stop outside the Dojima household. She could never have done this in the city. She sighed in relief. She was going to get a nice bath tonight. Her shoulders and legs hurt after that last floor. Kanji was never allowed to try to be covert again. Seriously.

"I'm home," she called into the house. Nanako turned and gave an eager wave.

"Welcome home, Nee-chan!" She turned back to the television for a moment. "Dad's in the bathroom."

Yui's heart swelled to the size of a balloon at the sight of her. "Hey." Nanako was the best cousin she could have asked for. Kind, well-meaning, even a little mature. Her serious, childlike expressions struck home in a way nothing could. "He knew I would need a bath." She pretended to pout. "Meanie, isn't he?"

In April, Nanako would have nodded timidly, afraid to agree. Now she laughed like any other child. It was thanks to everyone's help. "Yeah!" Then Nanako pulled something from the living room table. "This came for you today." She passed the envelope over and Yui took it to read the address. She sat down on the couch with a small thump. Nanako, unfortunately, noticed. She turned to see Yui's typical smile beginning to tremble at the corners. "Nee-chan?"

Yui relaxed very slowly, like air draining from a trapped balloon. "Sorry, it was a bit of a surprise." She slit the letter open with her nail. "Mom and dad want to visit."

Nanako's head tilted. "For what?"

Yui shrugged."Maybe they have some time off? My birthday was last month."

Nanako smiled at the reminder. "They missed all the fun we had."

Yui's smile softened and she reached out to pat Nanako on the head. "Mm. You're probably right." Then, she pushed herself back up to her feet. "Come on, let's go get your dad to save some water. Did you have your bath yet?"

"Nope!"

"Well then." Yui spun and picked up a pair of pillows. "To battle!"

Nanako beamed and raised a hand. "To battle!"

* * *

Ten o'clock came and passed, leaving Yui torn between staring at the letter and staring at the ceiling. Most of the time, it was the ceiling. Sometimes, to surprise herself, it was the clock.

Eventually, she rolled out of bed and headed downstairs.

Unsurprisingly, her uncle sat there at the kitchen table, putting away another case file. "Supposed to leave work at work, you know," she said in as much of a chiding voice as she could.

"You're supposed to be asleep," he countered, grunting through a likely lukewarm cup of coffee.

Yui resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm seventeen, uncle. I'll be fine."

"Unfortunately, I know."

Yui laughed and sat down, watching Dojima clip pictures out of yet another newspaper.

Dojima didn't look away from it when he spoke next. "I'm guessing you don't have a good relationship with my sister."

Yui pretended her blood didn't chill, choosing to respond to the blunt honesty. "That's invasive."

"You're under my roof for the rest of this year. I should be more invasive." He looked at her now. "I won't be angry. I know my sister."

"They're okay." It wasn't a lie if she wasn't sure, right? "I just don't know what they get out of this."

Dojima grunted again took another slurp. "She's not good at that emotional investment thing… well, really, I'm not much better." He sighed. "Why do you think they're coming?"

Yui swallowed. "Well…"

 _Why are you taking this so seriously? It was just for fun. Honestly, you can be such a bore._

"Probably to make sure I'm settling in well," she decided to say. It wasn't a lie.

Dojima regarded her with one eye. "I see. Five months later."

Yui made herself smile. "Yeah. That's sooner than I expected."

He reached over as if to examine her face for tears with his fingers. Then her uncle's hand dropped. "Bit more than I expected."

Yui didn't disagree.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ So... no I have not forgotten Finite. In fact, I've been working on the longer parts (Because the facets and pieces are legit way too short for comfort.) so I'll be working on backlogging that through at least May or June (timeline wise) so until then we'll get this. Because I got my hands on Persona 4 Golden a few months back and all I could think of was... cisswap? I guess. Well, we'll see. Please let me know what you think! This story starts, as you can guess, after the team has been brought together, but we'll be getting some nice peeks into how that went down! So... yeah! Please enjoy!

Challenges: Novella Masterclass (AMF) Persona list season rewrite, Small Multichap Comp (AMF), Song Time Challenge - No pain, no game - Nano


	2. honor

_two - honor_

In the past Yui never would have punched a boy in the face. Stomped on his foot or given a good kick, but she would never have had the gall or stupidity to full-body attempt to break their cheek. And yet the longer she had listened to that Shadow Yosuke talk, with his golden eyes wild with disdain of the world, the more she hadn't been able to help herself.

She did know how. The rare times her father had spent time with her had been to show her how to fight, how to dodge, how to survive. Some places were not gentle and easy and friendly after all. They couldn't be. Still, she hadn't figured that she would need those skills here.

 _Not even here a week and causing problems._

Yui determinedly ignored that voice in the back of her mind, so snide and well meaning, instead focusing on rearing back for another punch. When it didn't look like Yosuke would rise, she turned back to the monster in front of her, the frog-like leering thing that had an abnormal black jaw and threatened to topple her over with a single gust of green wind. Above her floated that comforting presence, the warmth of Izanagi, the one who sought out love and backed away at the last second.

He fit her too well, really.

"Did you want Saki-senpai to die?"

Yosuke blinked. "What?" He managed to push himself to his feet again. "Of course not!"

"Do you want her to die now, hearing her true thoughts?" Yui tried to shut her mouth. She didn't know where these words were coming from or how she of all people could have the gall to say them.

"Of course not!"

"Bullshit," sneered the Shadow. Behind Yosuke, Kuma trembled. He was a very strange creature, that bear. "Why wouldn't you? She's just like you. Just as bad and pathetic. No two ways around that, ey?"

Yui made herself nod, leaning to pick up the golf club. "Then, don't beat yourself up so much. We're all like this. We're all a bunch of good and bad things. If you feel this way, you can talk about it. With me. If you want to."

She didn't wait for his answer, couldn't really. Instead she had to fight, swinging her golf club and calling on lightning she didn't know a person could use. She wasn't sure she was the person to talk to anyway, not about bad things, or shameful things.

But when he managed to get to her side, to look at himself and stare at it in the face, to earn his own respect back in a twisted way, she wasn't sure he needed to.

Only he did. Talk to her. Talked about himself and the city. Talked about the friends who made their way into his life very casually and then left it just as easily.

"I don't think they were my friends either," he admitted. "Running a store's not all it's cracked up to be."

"You don't run it," Yui said before she could stop herself. "You just exist in it."

Yosuke made a face at her. Then he laughed. "Okay, that's fair. You got me." He put the knives down, eyes thoughtful. "Speaking of got me, you owe me a punch."

Yui's eyes flickered. He was serious, behind that joking smile. So, she smiled back, pretended it was okay, like it was fair and even. "You think I'll let you punch me."

"It's only fair," he replied with that same smile. She preferred that one. It was more self-assured, less pretending to be that way.

"I don't play fair."

He laughed again. In the end, he managed to get one good punch. It didn't last.

* * *

Yosuke didn't know his partner all that well. Not that that was a bad thing per say, it just was weird. She talked about herself when she was asked, talked about a few friends here or there or how when she still lived with her parents on a regular basis she once hot glued all the tv remote buttons stuck together so they wouldn't press properly. She didn't give away anything too unusual. She was always top of her class, or close to it, she played the women's only sports and joined home economics club because they always needed more people around and she needed to be able to eat without risking a house fire. (her parents did know how to cook, there were just terrible at multitasking, according to her.)

But he didn't know his partner well enough to understand why Yui came into school looking miserable that day in September, and he didn't know how to ask either. It wasn't even their brand of miserable, but her eyes were only sometimes looking at the board

He wanted to ask Yukiko to do it, on the grounds that she had more tact than him or Chie combined. However, long proximity with her had proven to him that at times that didn't mean much. And he couldn't ask the others to do it. THey were juniors and may not even see her. And Kuma was just… Kuma. That wasn't happening.

So he had to do it himself, especially since everyone else noticed.

"She's freaked out about somethin', that's for sure." That was Kanji for you. When he noticed things, he noticed like a dropped anvil in a parking lot. "What do you think, senpai?"

Yosuke twitched in his seat, rough concrete hurting his behind. "No idea."

Yui wasn't even paying much attention to their scrutiny either, eating slowly and looking at her cell phone.

"I'll find out," he said, with as much decisiveness as he could bear in himself.

Yukiko snorted at whatever look he had on his face but he had to ignore it. Yui had abandoned her food out right now and was texting with a furrowed brow. "Yo," He tried to sound casual and not worried. "What's going on?"

Yui glanced at him, shoulders hunching without real thought. They lowered them. "Yosuke." Never -kun. Never any honorifics from her for anyone. It was probably easier. After she had seen every single one of them with a dark secret, she probably just gave up boundaries altogether. "What is it?"

"You're pretty out of it today," he said, slouching a little. He didn't know why he was doing that. Nothing was wrong. She seemed fine. "Everything all right?"

"Oh." For a moment, emotions flickered across her face that he didn't recognize. Then she nodded. "Yeah, my parents are coming by soon."

"For what?"

Yui shrugged, her hair once having been down to her ears pooling at her neck now. "Make up for lost time?"

She said it easily enough, dismissively even, but he couldn't help the unease creeping up his throat.

Yosuke just wished he knew why.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_** As a note, all I've got is a copy of Golden and armament of canon knowledge. And a few other things, so some imprecision is going to likely happen.


	3. placid

_three - placid_

The fact that Chie and Yukiko were often in a matching set was only eclipsed by the fact that Yui was becoming part of the set. And soon Nanako, then Naoto, then Kanji and Rise. Yosuke and Teddie were last, though that, everyone noted, was because they were their own kind of matching set. That was, on its own, weird enough.

But Yui, first and foremost, had become part of the original duo. Not from Yosuke's lack of trying, but mostly because they would stop noticing her at some points, completely by accident. They would be sitting together at lunch and she would be doing homework, or she'd be walking past them at the mall. She would buy dinner at the nearest fast food place that Chie frequented and like that they were together. It was the charm of the small town, one of the few as Yukiko put it on some days.

This was one of those days, where they forgot she was right next to them. This time it wasn't entirely their fault. Yui was absorbed in her phone screen, texting with one hand at a speed that Chie didn't even think Yosuke could manage.

"Who are you texting?" She kept her voice candid, casual. At the moment it wasn't a big deal, except for the fact that most of the time, Yui was a much lazier texter and only replied to her various jobs and club friends. And more often than not she would just call them.

"My mom," Yui replied. "She's trying to figure out a good time to meet me at the station next week."

"Your mother's coming?" Yukiko gasped and nearly choked on her noodles.

Yui flushed, which alone was rare. Mentions of her parents were even rarer. Chie really wanted to snap a photo. "They both are, actually. Something about missing my birthday."

"But that was ages ago," Chie muttered, aghast. "Little late now!" She took an extra rough bite.

Yui laughed a little. "They're rather scatterbrained about dates. They've forgotten their wedding anniversary more than once. And I guess it's a gift they want to give in person."

"Well." Yukiko resumes slurping. "At least we get to meet them. That will be nice."

Yui smiled. "Yep, and I can make them walk around. They're always in the car. The most activity they get is the treadmill."

Chie couldn't help her mischief filled grin. She loved that. Treadmills were not the same as the steps through muggy streets and constantly holding an umbrella, even without murder cases. "We'll help you give a grand old tour if you want!" It wouldn't be hard to rope everyone into that, for sure.

Chie watched Yui's expression crease and opened her mouth to dismiss the idea before her shoulders loosened from some invisible tension. "That sounds great actually. It'll pass the time until Uncle Dojima gets home." She smirked. "They're terribly impatient sometimes."

"That's nothing like you."

Yui's smirk took on a mischievous gleam. "It's not, huh? So that's why you never noticed where your ice cream pints went."

Chie's jaw dropped. "That was you?"

Happy smile. "Didn't want to wait for my paycheck."

"So you used _mine_?!"

Yui laughed the problem away, along with everything else.

* * *

"We get to meet Sensei's parents~! We get to meet Sensei's parents~!"

Kuma was practically singing the words, much to Yosuke's chagrin. He was lucky the customers were used to him by now. Otherwise, they both would be kicked out and there would go the paycheck they both sorely needed, especially since Kuma insisted on buying expensive looking clothes. It was where almost all his money went.

"What _is_ a parent anyway?"

Yosuke glanced at him over a box. "Dude, I have parents. You've met them." He knew the bear had a literal empty head but seriously.

Teddie would have flailed if he wasn't carrying all those boxes. "Y-yeah! But I dunno what they do! They work here and pay us and eat with us and stuff but is that what parents all do?"

Yosuke let out a snort. "I don't think Yui's parents are much like mine. She'd be with them instead of here."

"Oh." Teddie went blissfully quiet for a grand total of ninety seconds. "Are they good parents?"

"I dunno," Yosuke said with a grunt. "She doesn't seem happy about them being here does she?"

"Guess not." Teddie yawned. "But she doesn't need them then! She's got us, and Nanako-chan and her old man!"

"Somehow I doubt it's that simple." Yosuke rolled his eyes again.

"Well, you dunno."

"It's a human thing to over complicate stuff, Teddie."

Teddie pouted, but then he thought about it. "I guess so." He seemed to sparkle to life again within seconds. "We should bring them dinner!"

"Teddie-" Yosuke paused. "Yeah, we should. The train ride is really long from here to the city. We just cannot let the girls cook."

Teddie set his much higher stack down. "Not even Sensei?" He methodically started shoving the heavy items back. "Sensei can cook though! And the girls do a great job trying!"

You just want to stay on their good side. Yosuke hesitated before answering. Yui actually could cook. Naoto could also cook… if mechanically. Still, asking one would ask them all and he really didn't want to poison his partner's parents, good or not.

"Nah," he said dryly. "Yui will be stressed out enough that day as is. And the other will try to help and it'll be way too many undeserved creations of mysterious food x."

Teddie made a face. "Sensei will be stressed? Or you will be?"

Yosuke decided to ignore the pointed question. "C'mon you dumb bear, we've got more stock to get."

* * *

Yui stood beside her scooter and filled it with gas. Her helmet hung limply on her head, straps dangling by her ears.

She was tired, already, and they weren't even here yet.

The others were excited. They had to be. They had never seen her family before. It was probably a guessing game of who she was like the most. She could, wasn't going to tell them.

The only ones having a reasonable reaction were Nanako and Dojima-san. But Nanako was still shy and Dojima knew them.

Still. He'd pretend to like them if she asked.

She wasn't going to ask.

"I'm going shopping," she called into the house.

Nanako chirped about June's and ran out with her helmet. Yui shushed her with a smile.

"Gotta be quick and quiet, right?" She encouraged.

Nanako giggled and mimicked her in a whisper.

She still had a week to not think about it.


	4. parcels

_Warning for cursing_

* * *

 _four - parcels_

The week flashed in a rush of attempts at doing well. Attempts and subsequent failures and further attempts and busy work. Her parents would be at the Amagi In. They would get here right after school, which meant she would have to skip soccer practice. That was for the best, really. They didn't like her very much. Whether it was because she was a girl or because she outplayed many of them, she didn't know.

Daisuke and Kou liked her, however, and that was enough. They were even covering for her being gone.

Her school skirt itched on her legs as Yui stopped to take a breath, brushing against the already chilly skin. Her head hurt a little and she shut her eyes. This would be a long evening.

A large hand rested on her shoulder (not her uncle's size, but she could feel how much he worked day in and day out. This was the boy who fought with desks and chairs after all) and she looked up to see Kanji. His once pasty face was almost warm tan now after a few months of finding sunlight and no longer skulking under awnings and doing business in the rain.

"You okay, senpai?" His gruff voice was heavy with worry. "The others are on their way. Shirogane, er, Naoto went to flag down some taxi? I think."

Yui almost laughed but did resume walking. "I hope she doesn't overstep. They can walk the same as anyone else."

"Not with their luggage, senpai. Not all the way to the inn."

He sounded so stricken and earnest that Yui did have to laugh.

"Don't worry, Kanji," she said, patting him on the arm now. "They could handle it. And Naoto is taking care of it anyway. They'll be fine."

He flushed (the boys here in Inaba blushed so easily) and scratched his head. "If you say so, senpai."

Yui smiled again and nodded. They walked in companionable silence for a few minutes and Yui breathed as quietly as she could. As if that could cover up her nervousness.

She hesitated once more. Then, exhaling a bit, she said, "Kanji?"

Kanji twitched. She almost never used honorifics, something that baffled so many of the residents here, especially since even Yosuke used them to great effect at times. And yet she was polite enough as she was taught to be.

 _"Why can't you just be normal?"_

"Yeah? What's up, senpai?"

Yui hesitated for a second, chewing her lip. She couldn't look at his sincerity for very long if she wanted to ask this question. It was too much, really. Too open.

 _Don't be such a hypocrite,_ she told herself. "Your shadow was reflecting your uncertainty about who you are."

"They are like that, senpai." He sounded… concerned, afraid? Something like that. She had been there, she should remember.

She nodded. "What if you know who you are at the moment, enough to accept it, but other people don't want you to accept it?"

Kanji swallowed. "I… huh."

"I don't need an answer," Yui said with a wan smile. "I just needed to ask the question."

"I… uhm." Kanji nodded to himself. "I'm gonna think about it and get back to you. That all right?"

Yui nodded and sat down on the Inaba train station steps.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

* * *

Kanji did not sit. He was determined to get the very first glimpse of their Head Investigator's (Rise had called her that once instead of Leader by accident and everyone had witnessed her turn into a blushing mess for about ninety seconds.) Family. He wondered who she took after. She looked nothing like Dojima-san, who was nothing but sharp chisel and awkward gait. But Nanako didn't look like him either.

Also, it was easier than looking at senpai, whose face had a strange, troubled expression. She didn't have that face very often. She was usually calm, composed. Sometimes she and Rise were of one mind it seemed like. Their tactics were just that on point. So now…. These past few weeks had turned her into almost a shadow. Her normally neatly combed hair was barely tamed this morning, matching eyes dull in the cloudy sky. The uniform even seemed to hang off of her shoulders.

 _"What if you know who you are at the moment, enough to accept it, but other people don't want you to accept it?"_

That was a weird question. Then again, it also suited senpai. She was so straightforward sometimes. She had no hesitations most of the time.

Kanji fiddled with an incomplete project in his jacket pocket. He was starting to thrum with nerves. Where the hell were the others anyway, they were gonna be here any minute! This would be a shit first impression, senpai sitting here with a thug looking dude for a friend by herself at a train station. What if they were super protective?

 _What kinda protective parent ships their kid to the boonies?_

"Senpai," he began slowly. She peered up at him. She reached his chest when standing up and cared little otherwise. "Do your parents uh-" He fiddled again. "Uh, ya know-"

"Mm." Yui smiled a bit, opening her bag. "I know. But they're not around much so not really. They love me of course, but-" she shrugged slightly. "Don't get your hopes up much okay?"

Kanji raised an eyebrow behind his sunglasses but then he heard Rise calling out behind them and turned to the gaggle of their friends with bags and a van.

"Bit much!" Yukiko admitted when she jumped out of the car, eyes sparkling. "But when Dojima-san had to cancel… well, it seemed only fair, right?"

Yui's lips curled like a smile. Then her head whipped about as the sound of a train screeching to a halt met their ears.

She hopped to her feet and up the rest of the stairs. Then, they waited.

Everyone else left the car as the doors squeaked open on their automatic slides. Then, something small and grey sped out of them and tackled Yui off the stairs.

Kanji, being closest, acted fast enough to catch her and said blur. Yui's face was scrunched with amusement and dismay, one hand around the blur's torso, the other digging into the soft flesh under the ear. Said blur was quickly revealed to be a small child, who squirmed helplessly in her iron grip.

"Leggo!" They shouted, laughter betraying any chance at anger in their voice.

"You could have cracked our heads," she said as Kanji helped them both stand up. Yui looked back at them, smiling a little.

"Everyone," she said, now examining said child. "This is my little brother Yu."

"Nice to meet you!" He said, waving over her arm.


	5. distance

_five - distance_

 _Senpai has a little brother._

That… this had never come to Naoto's mind in the slightest.

Said little brother had shorter hair, larger eyes, and wore summer clothes, clearly not well dressed for the chill and clouds that often permeated the Inaba area (something she herself had only avoided by virtue of preferring long sleeves). Barring that, there was not a lick of doubt that this was Narukami Yui's little brother.

 _I suppose it does explain her natural affinity with Nanako._

He eventually got off, just long enough to hug her again when she was standing properly.

"Hi," Yui squeaked, getting her breath back. "Won't expect this too often, Yu."

The boy rolled his eyes. "It's been months. I can be nice!"

"For a day," Yui retorted. She raised her head and met his smirk twist for twist. "And clearly not if you want to crack my head like an egg."

"Hmph!" The boy's harrumph was ruined by his refusal to loosen his grip on her middle. Instead, he turned his head. "Mum! Da! Hurry up! Her friends are all here!"

"We're _old_ , son, give us a break," mused a man's voice as the door pushed open again. Naoto picked up her jaw from the ground with delicate fingers and watched Yui slowly tense up again like a coiled spring.

A man and a woman stepped into view, the woman with lustrous black hair, thick and rich (Rise would inform them later it was dyed, though how she knew that was a mystery none of them wanted to solve) and the man with salt and pepper and age lines thick and making his eyes seem minuscule in comparison to the rest of him. Both had strained smiles.

Both, however, unlike their children, were dressed in neat suits. Each line on the clothes was sharp and tailored just so. The low, nearly dodgy wet charm of Inaba suddenly felt grimy and out of place, even to Naoto, who had worked in the city for years.

She was starting to understand. Judging by her glance at Yosuke and Rise, they too were starting to do the same.

Yu only let go when they began walking down the steps. "They," he said, with such flouncing dramatics even Teddie snorted. "Have been claiming old age as an excuse for me to carry all the luggage like a pack mule." He gave another pointing gesture. "But look, dad's dragging that haul just fine."

Yui glanced up and her lips quirked a little. "I think he's trying to prove he's still got it."

"Still got what?" he asked with a voice of pure innocent curiosity that not a single one of them believed.

"Whatever got them married," Yui replied, shoulders falling a little.

Her mother grinned and they could see their Leader in that face: ferocious as a cat with yarn. "If you mean money he refuses to spend then yes."

The man made a face of long-suffering that was only detracted from the way he looked at his daughter and his eyes lit up. "She complains like she did not get her way and get a new suitcase."

"I used the first one in the elevator," Yu informed them with a benign smirk. "And the stairs."

Yui sighed. Then, she extracted herself from her brother and went to grab the cart. "Did you bring the bedrooms with you or something?" she asked.

Even with her shoulders lower, her body was still taut with some rubber band tension. Still, she grabbed the cart and that pushed everyone into motion: Kanji again to help her, Teddie marveling at her mother, Yukiko rapid firing introductions and Naoto quietly clenching her fingers around the wheel.

They were an unprepared mess really. Yui hadn't told them what to expect, but who could? Naoto had a limited understanding of things like this, of a real family and caring people but this even struck her as complicated.

Rise, without hesitation, smoothed it all over with the grace and charm of the idol she usually was. Yuu adored her without hesitation.

* * *

Once they were all loaded into the van that everyone questioned the legality of, Naoto started o turn it back, heading where they presumed was the Amagi Inn.

"We'll be stopping at the house tonight," explained Hotaru in between taps on her cell phone. Better than making my brother lug all of our stuff into his trunk and not kiss his daughter good night."

Yui twitched. No one commented on those words, not even Teddie.

Narukami Hotaru looked out the window. There was a wistful, fond smile on her face. "This place hasn't changed much it looks like. How nostalgic."

"You, you used to live here, ma'am?" Yosuke asked from further back in the vehicle, likely restraining Teddie with both arms.

"My brother and I were born here," she replied, putting her phone back in a small black purse. "Ryo and I would spend most days at the beach or in the garden. He was terrible at it but it gave him a chance to cover me in mud and dirt. I used to hate it." She laughed. "And then we moved to the city to go to high school. The one here ticked off my mother so much it caused our parents to have a brilliant fight."

She rolled down the window without asking, something Naoto noted Yui had done one before when her uncle had taken the two of them to get groceries from Junes. "Ah, yes, that breeze feels nice."

"You were telling me that the entire time on the train," replied her husband, a raised eyebrow high on his forehead.

"She wouldn't shut up about it," Yuu chimed in. "For an hour."

"Makes up for you and the two hour Ultraman rant huh?" Yui teased.

"Hey!"

The adults laughed. Naoto wanted to, but there was a sick, sick feeling roiling in her gut. Like this was somehow a show. A show put on for the benefit of all of them. That all they needed to see was a happy family and they would believe it. Like the elephant in the room didn't exist.

But the question remained: why had Yui been sent to Inaba and her brother had not? Perhaps he was too young to look after himself alone out here. Maybe something had happened or Dojima-san simply didn't have enough space (the whole group couldn't fit in Yui's closet of a bedroom for meetings, which made it awkward if Nanako was home and Junes was packed). Wouldn't Yui have said so?

"I'm glad you decided to come out here," Hotaru finally said, startling all of them. "The fresh air, the busy days… it's brought some color back into you."

Yui sat and listened. Her eyes were almost shut but there was no doubt she heard. "I'm still a bit of a rain cloud, aren't I?" she mused, sounding… different. More of an echo.

"That's on your father," Hotaru replied. Yuusaku only chortled. "But you look like you've stretched out a little more."

"Dublin is crowded," Yuu informed her. "You would have hated it. It always smells funny."

That got Yui to giggle. It was a normal sound and the Investigation Team collectively let out a breath they all had been holding.

"Was it as bad as your sock drawer?"

He threw something - a plush bear likely- at her face. She ducked and it smacked right into Teddie.

This time everyone laughed and the cloud of tension faded away.


	6. doors

_six - doors_

It was such a _normal_ car ride that Yui wanted to vomit.

It was such a fake normal that everyone had to have noticed how off it was. They had to notice what was wrong with her and were too polite to stay so. Or they didn't know what to say. She loved her friends but that was a very high possibility. The Investigation Team was united in their sincere lack of tact.

Except for Rise-chan. RIse just… clicked on the whole situation and it had never made Yui so grateful as it did right now.

To be fair, Yui hadn't expected anything less. Her parents had never hit her, in fact, they had never really brought her to harm on purpose. And they all loved each other, loved each other deep and well and not always good but sometimes.

And that sometimes simply hadn't been enough.

Not that Yu was much better, he was just ten and could, therefore, be picked up and carried wherever the adults saw fit. But he was still trying to pretend it was for his own good and therefore okay with him and he could work around it.

She couldn't tell him he would crumble and break. She couldn't tell him what a part of him already knew.

So she didn't. She would wait for the conclusion to come.

At one point, however, Yui had to beg out of the ride. She needed to get home to finish making dinner for Nanako and pick vegetables with her and her parents had been sharing the look to start 'interrogating' her new friends and she'd rather not be there to see that.

So she hopped off closer to the house and walked the rest of the way. She had craved the silence so hard it hurt and even the personas crowding in her skull were quiet. They seemed forgiving in the direst of situations like this and she couldn't be more grateful.

But she wasn't alone until she got to the house. Nanako had gone to a friend's house so she had moments. Possibly an hour if she wanted to get really risky and dangerous about being caught.

Still, she made it inside and up the stairs. She left her shoes where they needed to be. Yui crept like a stranger into her own room. Her body trembled until she made it to her bed.

Then she let out a single awful sob. And they flooded out in torrents, awful muffled waterfalls (she'd made it to her bed and under her pillow but to her, the sounds felt extremely deafening.

What was wrong with her, what was wrong with her? She had missed them, she had missed them so much that she'd almost regretted coming to Inaba period. But now they were here and now she couldn't run away from-

From wanting to see her friends smile, from wanting a little more of a look from the girl just above her, from wanting to look like everything she was supposed to, so perfect and ordinary-

All she could think of was the end of last year, of December where it all went belly up and ended with-

A hand touched her back, calloused and cool even through the duvet.

Yui stiffened. "U-Uncle." She sniffled. 'You're supposed to knock."

"I did," he said with that forced cheer and vibrancy that he was supposed to use on Nanako, not him. "You were a little caught up."

Yui snorted. The wet sound made the older man grin. "Thought you were going to be late."

"Nah, not this time. Adachi can take care of things." He sat on the bed beside her. "My sister and I are really alike, aren't we? Nanako always cried during thunderstorms before you showed up."

There had been one just last month, practically a monsoon that had made the walls rattle. Even Dojima himself had been woken up by it and Nanako sobbing hard enough that it hurt. Rather like this.

Yui didn't know what the right answer was. She nodded instead.

"My sister's just like that." Dojima exhaled like he had a cigarette in hand. She knew he didn't. "Something could be wrong and she can't deal with that. She only wants to make it right. But she misses that extra step about figuring out what's wrong. Am I right?"

Yui didn't answer.

Dojima sighed. "I told you I wouldn't press about why you were out here without your brother. It's not my business if you don't want it to be. But I know my sister pretty well. I might be able to try… something."

Yui closed her eyes and rolled onto her side.

She didn't say another word and Dojima didn't force her. She was his equal in a lot of ways, but his niece in a way was still a child.

If nothing else was possible, he could let her be one for just a little longer.

* * *

Rise sat back against her seat. Naoto opened one eye to look at her as she did. "Good work," Naoto decided to say after a few moments of thought. "You handled them well."

"That was almost as hard as my interview about that Tatsumi fiasco!" she grumbled, rolling her shoulders. "No wonder Yui-senpai is so wound up all the time, it was tap dancing with the wrong shoes."

"I… have no experiences with such."

"Don't ever, it sucks." Rise sighed. "But they're a piece of work, no doubt about it. They mean well though… which is likely the problem. You're going to have to be careful."

Naoto nodded absently, then turned to look at her. "Me? Why?"

RIse stared at her, aghast. "Because she _likes_ you, and her parents don't know what they're doing."

Naoto blinked twice. "I… beg your pardon?"

Rise waited three seconds, then put her head in her hands. "I can't believe I just outed senpai to her crush. I am a horrible person and please just forget I said anything at all."

Naoto however, was flushing bright pink. "I… I beg your pardon?" she repeated.

Rise raised her eyebrows high as she recovered herself. She considered grinning in the most maniacal way possible. But Naoto did not deserve that, so instead, she put a hand on her shoulder and said again,

"Yui-senpai has a major crush on you and her parents have no idea how to deal with whatever happened surrounding her last one and there was major drama."

"How do you know this?" Naoto asked weakly.

I'm going to remember being smarter than the Detective Prince for years to come. Rise didn't say this either. Instead, she said, "It's a guess, but my intuition is usually right. Besides, the mum said that Yui-senpai had chosen to come here. That usually means a clearing of the air. And the dad was looking at us a lot. Watch the next time we see them. You'll see."

Rise sounded _smug_ and Naoto was not sure if she liked that.


	7. people

_Warnings: past violence, bullying, homophobia, parents as people._

* * *

 _seven - people_

"Nanako, can you get the door?"

Her big sister's (big cousin, big sister, it was all the same! They were family!) still sounded a little choked up when she spoke, but only Nanako herself had noticed because her big sister was good at sounding completely collected. But she had seen her face and been hugged very gently. (SHe didn't think Yui-nee had ever hugged somebody in her life, let alone hit them.)

Dad had set her down and explained that her aunt and uncle, big sister's parents, had made stumbles with Yui, much like he had with her. Some of it was probably because of work, some of it was probably her little brother. (He was just a teensy bit older than her, so she would not bend to him so easily!) Either way, it'd left Yui in a state of upset that she wasn't handling as well as she'd hoped.

Nanako, hearing that, had almost cried. But she hadn't, because, just like dad needed her strength, so did her big sister.

Therefore, Nanako skipped to the small hallway and unlocked their door. Her eyes went wide. "Teddie!" She hugged him around the middle, looping his arms around her back, of course without asking. She didn't need to ask. Teddie was her friend! And he was learning how hugging worked!

"Nana-chan!" He lifted her up and spun her around. "It smells good in here! Sensei must be cooking!"

"Tact, Teddie," Big Sis called from the stove and over the sizzle of butter in a pan.

Teddie made a strange sort of face but then grinned. "If you say so, Sensei! Nana-chan, let's go play outside!"

Nanako, after a nod from Dad and Big Sis both, happily obliged.

* * *

"He's distracted," Yosuke muttered with relief, carrying a couple of boxes into the living area. "Thank God. He almost dropped the cake twice on the way here."

"I could have just taken them with me." Yui giggled. "I can carry things the same as you."

Yosuke flushed. "Yeah I know."

"You'd better." Dojima was reclined on the couch. "She seems to be the only one of you with any sense."

"My friends have sense, Uncle."

Dojima opened a can. "I can only _hope_ , considering where I continue to find you all."

Yosuke laughed, nerves making it tremble a little. Yui grabbed a pair of chopsticks, seemingly unruffled.

"We have horrible timing." Yui's voice was completely smooth. "You can blame it on my dad for me, no clue where Yosuke gets it."

"I think I'm just cursed." Yosuke tried to sound breezy and unconcerned. Considering the weight of the eyes on his back, he failed.

Yui giggled and Yosuke felt his shoulders ease, especially as more people came into the room.

Rise squinted at her when she put the sushi down (they'd been convinced to buy it from Junes, thank the gods. Then she leaped at Yui. Yui caught her and her excitable babbling that sometimes rivaled Nanako's own after a good day and with a good meal in her stomach, especially when she was aware of something being wrong. She had a sixth sense worthy of a priestess.

"I'm fine," she says, in order to get the girl off of her as quickly as possible. She didn't mind being this close to Rise, not that any of the group did because she was a very affectionate person and you learned to like it or suffer the consequences. That said, she did not want to see Naoto's face and give anything away- oh crap there was Naoto.

Yui's face flushed hard red, which wasn't hard. Her complexion was made for color. She would have burned in a sunny area. That was what made Inaba so naturally wonderful, in her opinion.

Even if the sun had nearly fried her hands.

Naoto's face was impossible to read for the briefest instant. Then she flushed just as colorful as Yui herself and fumbled to put her boxes down and go get more. She narrowly avoided knocking into Kanji in the process. Rise tried not to laugh out loud.

"I told her," she said, sounding smug.

Yui briefly considered tears again, but instead, sick nausea filled her throat. " _Why_?" she asked instead. "It was mine to tell."

"Because you'll never get an answer if she didn't know ahead of time." Rise's voice was stern and unforgiving, as she often was during things like this. "And because if she's not interested, I am."

Yui flushed again, caught very much on the wrong foot. "Remind me to yell at you for violating my privacy."

"When she's giving your parents dirty looks from over your shoulder, you'll thank me."

Yui sighed. She was too out of sorts to deal with it, or much of anything.

But later… later, she would be able to say something.

If Naoto looked her in the eye again, that was.

* * *

The simple truth that her parents knew was that she'd been bullied and suffered a nervous breakdown at the end of her exams.

The simple truth was that she had taken the mop from cleaning and swung it hard enough to knock both of the girls into their desks and onto the ground.

The simple truth was that she had cried while she had done it. And she'd only hit them once. There hadn't even been any blood.

The simple truth was that there would have been charges if they'd denied starting everything.

But Yui had made them say it.

"You said you loved me and you lied," she had said, loud and clear for the class to hear. "You said you wanted me and you lied. You used me."

That was the part her parents did not know. They did know who she was. They did know who she liked, and because they barely got to see her, unlike her brother who needed tutoring and schedules and their attention because he had to catch up and he simply was not doing it, they did not get to think very much about it. They did not get to consider if their daughter's choices were unnatural or not.

The part they did not know was that Narukami Yui had fallen for a girl and been dumped. It was the kindest rejection she had ever received.

But pain was pain and people had taken advantage of it.

And they had found money that had been stolen from her wallet, an attempt at ripping up a train pass. One of the bookbags had a box cutter. And there were marks.

So many parents had been furious. Her parents? Just concern. Just embarrassment.

But she had gotten her usual high marks so it had been fine.

Just in case, though, just in case, she didn't go back.

Not that Yui would have wanted to, but the idea remained.

And it lingered, right in the soil of her parents' minds.


	8. storms

_eight - storms_

Kujikawa Rise remembered everyone as faces outside of a crowd.

Not as the head of a collection of groupies, or as fans screaming her name in joy and mirth and pleasure, but those people who had fought their way to the front. Those people that saw a problem and ran towards it with all of their might and called her name.

And she couldn't help but think of Yui. Yui with her head bowed over her notebook. Who bought some of her grandmother's wares and came back days later with her cousin giggling for sweets.

And of everyone following her with concern. (At first, there was a lot of discomfort, but it was mostly concern!)

One of the worst things that she remembers is the fear. The fear of herself, of course, and what she could not become was still present. It'd probably never leave her on its own. Ever more obvious now, however, was fear of the kidnapper too. She couldn't even remember what he looked like, or what he'd done, which really hadn't been much. Because she was clothed and on something soft when she'd arrived. The problem was that he wasn't caught. In a small town, where people knew each other the same way people knew when the best days were to garden and what sales were happening under the counter.

Yui-senpai had walked home with her for a week. Then two. Then it kept happening every now and again, between club engagements. Then the others started to do it. And then she had done it for Naoto.

And while it didn't take all the fear away, it took something from it. And that helped.

* * *

The rain fell all night. Her family was dressed in stupid, ugly green raincoats (her father's favorite color was green and it was hideous on them especially) when they came in and their rain boots squelched as they opened the door. Yu was squirming for help escaping by the time he came inside.

Yukiko and Chie, born and raised in the Inaba rain and ground, had shrugged it off with a shared umbrella. It wasn't windy enough to risk losing the hood on a regular basis. Of course, they were still drenched but-

"Can we change in your room, Yui?" Everyone in Inaba carried a spare change of clothes. HEr parents had bought into it, perhaps out of bemused politeness. Or, knowing her mother, it was just how she'd been raised and she remembered.

"Go ahead!" she called back, helping find hooks for drenched rainwear. "Let my parents in when you're done so they don't ruin uncle's floors."

"What about me?" Yu was grinning now that he was free from the oppressive yellow boots.

"When Nanako's out of the bathroom, then you can go."

Yui saw her mother laugh. "So I finally get to meet the elusive little tyke, eh Ryo? You've hidden her every time I've called."

Dojima rolled his eyes. "For good reason, I think. You can talk an ear off when you want to."

At this point, all of the kids, bar Yui who was at the stove, and most of the girls who were watching her every move with awe and terror, were settled over the small table on the floor. It was the sort of closeness that Dojima had envied in so many children his age. None of them were exactly making noise about it.

Well, Teddie was, but that was because Nanako wasn't in the room to distract him.

Chie and Yukiko soon returned with their wet clothes placed on hangers. "You really need to wear those cute dress shirts sometime," Yukiko said, smiling at Yui. "It's supposed to be the last bit of sun in a few days."

"Oh good," Yui replied as her parents went upstairs. "More chances to get burned."

Yu sniggered and without hesitation, she flicked eel right into his hair. Yu shrieked and ran after their parents, nearly bumping into poor Nanako when he did.

"Sorry!"

Nanako only stared at him, wide-eyed as she stumbled back down.

Then there was a loud boom. Nanako let out a squeak and tripped. Yui seemed to leap across the room, catching her the rest of the way.

Of course, she fell herself but it was a much shorter fall on to the softer floor on a much tougher body. Still.

"Ow," she mumbled. "You okay, Nanako?"

The girl's hands were gripping her shoulders hard enough to hurt. "Yeah… thanks."

"Mmhm." With some careful footwork, she set her cousin back down. "Naoto, could you make sure nothing burnt?"

"Ah-" Naoto jumped (she'd heard the thump.), having been lost in thought. "Of course." Smoothing out her facial expression, she went to do so. "No, the bread is fine."

"Good. Please flip it for me. I'll be right over to swap with you."

Naoto gave a jerky kind of nod. For a moment, Yui stared at the back of her head, feeling a little confused and wrong-footed. What was going on with her?

Then she gave Rise a look over Nanako's head. At least she looked a little contrite for that.

She went back to cooking after a moment and did not question Naoto's extra distance.

If her heart sank a little, Yui ignored it.

Two minutes after she turned off the stove, the power went out.

"At least I finished," she muttered over the sounds of exaggerated shrieking and cell phone flashlights. "Gonna need help setting the table!"

"There are lanterns in the basement." Dojima flicked his lighter on as Kanji, who had no fear of stairs whatsoever, and Chie, who had every well-meaning bone in her body primed for assistance. (Also, like always, she really wanted to get out of the dark as fast as possible.)

Yui settled the food on the cloth and waited. It was just a thunderstorm. There wasn't any fog. Things were fine, everything was fine.

After all, they had caught Mitsuo. There was nothing to worry about on that end. There hadn't been any other kidnappings or killings. Everything was fine.

Then she heard her father's heavy, stumbling footsteps on the stairs. Yui winced. Everything was not fine.

She waved her phone at them instead of saying so and when they settled on her other side, she didn't disagree with that.

Outside, the rain, reflecting her mood, continued to pour.


	9. murmur

Warnings: discussion of coming out, binders, genderfluidity.

* * *

 _nine - murmur_

In the time it took the storm to clear, everyone gathered and wrapped themselves in blankets to eat their food. Thankfully it was mostly still warm. Yui had gathered both Yu and Nanako under her own blanket, leaving both kids to pretend each boom of thunder was a test of courage they both could pass.

They both kept dropping their chopsticks and getting rice on themselves. It wouldn't be quite as funny if this wasn't in the dark.

Yosuke checked his phone. "It's not supposed to slow down for a while. Do we have any sleeping bags or something? I can probably make it home if I run."

"Yukiko can bunk with me," Chie offered. "But my parents are probably about toe text me to stay where I'm at." The windows rattled. "And that wind is probably why."

"I'm gonna head back," Kanji said with a grunt. "If I don't, I'll scare mom half to death. She still doesn't have a phone."

"Ooh, can I duck under you?" Rise asked, leaning on him. "Grandma's the same so we're gonna need some to go boxes."

Yui nodded over Kanji's half-hearted stuttering of assent. "Course." She took her flashlight and set to work, leaving the kids to curl around their food.

Her father made to rise. "I can help-"

"Da, you're a klutz," Yu said without looking at him. "Don't make sis get the mop out. Besides, mum's got it."

Indeed she did. Yui shuffled to the side to let her mother beside her. "You keep your containers in the same place, Ryo?"

"Moved one shelf down," Dojima replied before his brother-in-law dragged into discussing the ethical practices of… something or other. Rise wasn't listening too closely. She was watching instead of in the dark. Her own phone gave her just enough light to see the rest of the room. She watched Yui's shoulders rise and fall as she looked towards and away from her mother in turns. She pursed her lips.

"Naoto~!" she called. "Are you going home? You going to call a car?"

Yes, remind everyone here that Naoto was _rich_ in that anime sort of way.

Naoto clicked her tongue, stirring herself from the quiet stupor of eating food in her mouth that she had been in. "I… no, of course not. That's absurd, Rise." Her eyes narrowed and Rise winked at her over her phone.

"We have sleeping bags and bedrolls," Nanako chirped. "You can wait it out in Big Sis' room!"

Yui let out a noise of bemusement (or possibly embarrassment, Rise bet on the latter) and then stifled it. "Sure," she agreed, voice smooth as if it had never happened. "That'll be fine. The bed's able to fit two of me. If Naoto doesn't mind."

"Oh…" Naoto scratched the back of her neck. "That would be most welcome."

"If it makes you feel better, Yosuke can sleep on the floor."

"That means Teddie will be here," Yosuke said with a snort. "And he snores the roof off. We're gonna dine and dash thanks."

"But I wanna play with Nana-chan some more."

Bless Teddie, comically missing the mood. Rise would kiss him if it wasn't so embarrassing.

Nanako, thankfully, had not. "It's okay," she said. "Yu is with me."

"He's been replaced," Chie mumbled. Yukiko snickered and immediately dissolved into giggles at her side.

The team used to this, just let her laugh. Teddie was too busy pouting to disprove it.

Yui just hurried with the food. This was going to be a long night.

After all, her parents definitely weren't going anywhere.

* * *

The rain was starting to slow by the time her family was all settled for the night. Most everyone had gone home. They had offered to give Naoto a ride, but then the windows clattered hard enough and self-preservation took over. Yui had set up her parents and brother in the living room with Dojima's help. The power wasn't going to come back on until tomorrow. It was going to be a long, chilly fall rain night.

So now she sat in one of Yui's spare pajamas, on top of the blanket. Thankfully, the fact that it was a nightgown seemed to not bother her for the moment.

"Thank goodness we're the same size in most areas." Yui unrolled the spare bedroll as Naoto looked around the room with a narrowed stare. "Mostly," she repeated, a wry smile quirking at her lips as Naoto flushed. The fact that she was apparently the most "buxom" of the girls was more of a curse for her than anything else.

"Thanks for pointing it out," Naoto said, squinting at her. She still had her cap on. Yui sincerely hoped that she wouldn't sleep with it on. She had no idea what that would do to her hair.

Also, Yui would have a horrible urge to snatch it. That was way too embarrassing to think about.

She turned to offer Naoto a placating smile. "Sorry. But I wouldn't sleep with your binder on. It'll be good to wash it anyway."

Naoto nodded slowly. "So I've learned. I'm just…"

"It's awkward, yeah." Yui finished with the bedroll. "Are you sure that you don't want to take my bed? Or share? It's chilly on the floor. I dozed off at the table once."

She was going to pretend she had no idea what Rise had told Naoto and it would be fine. EIther Naoto would confront her or drop it and the rest of the year would pass in romantic peace.

That sounded way better when Naoto wasn't looking at her.

"No, no it's fine," Naoto said, leaving the bed to settle on the floor. "You have to be up early to help with breakfast yes? I don't want to disturb your slumber. You and yours have been doing so much already."

It was Yui's turn to flush. "That's what friends do."

Now, Naoto smiled. "Of course. You're quite right."

They both moved to settle down. Yui switched off her light and soon the only light came from the blurred street lamps outside their window and the only sound being their slight breathing and the loud, but soothing patter of the rain. The fabric rustled as Naoto rolled onto her side. Yui stared up at the ceiling and listened, and thought.

Maybe she was overreacting to her family. This week could be good, reconciliation and all of that. Maybe her parents had taken the last few months to listen to what the doctor had said, had come up with questions she really could answer.

She doubted it but she could try and hope for it. So long as nothing went too wrong (like the murderer) during this week, Yui could live with it. She hoped.

Just when Yui had finally drifted off, the tv turned on to white static.


End file.
